inspired by

A Bright Idea

Heat embossing is so much fun. I use it as often as I can. I love to watch someone run their fingers over something that’s embossed. The bit of texture and shine that it adds can really complete a project.

More often than not, I’m embossing something on a card, a gift, or a scrapbook page. Embossing can also be used for home décor! I found a lampshade at IKEA that was just begging for a little extra detail to be added.

This lampshade comes flat, so it was really easy to stamp on. The trick to making this work was my Embossing Buddy. The lampshade is made of plastic so it naturally has a lot of static. I thumped the Embossing Buddy all over the shade, then inked my dahlia stamp with VersaMark and randomly stamped onto the lampshade. I stamped a few, sprinkled on the embossing powder, then applied heat with the low setting of my Heat Tool. Even low heat can cause a little bit of warping, so be sure to go slow and be patient.

Repeat the stamping, sprinkling, and heating until you have all of the dahlias stamped that you wanted. Snap the two ends of the lampshade together, then attach the other pieces that came with the lampshade.

I’m always on the lookout for new surfaces that I can add a bit of embossing to. What fun and unique uses have you found for embossing?